Murder Zoloft 02/07/1998 Colorado Postpartum Depression: Mother Kills her Two Small Children
 
 Summary:<br><br><div>Ann Tracy, Ph.D., Executive Director of the International Coalition for Drug Awareness, <strong>confirmed that this woman was taking <u>Zoloft </u>at the time of the slayings.&nbsp;</strong></div><div>Paragraph 18 reads:&nbsp; &quot;<strong><u>Although psychiatric drugs were prescribed, </u></strong>the doctor said it would take <strong><u>at least two weeks for anti-depressants to become effective.</u></strong>&quot;<br /><br />______________________________________________________________________________<br />MOM WHO KILLED KIDS RULED INSANE 2 PSYCHIATRISTS BLAME POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION<br />Rocky Mountain News (CO)<br />July 2, 1998<br />Author: Sue Lindsay<br />Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer <br />Estimated printed pages: 4 <br /><img src="../images.newsbank.com/infoweb/agg/shim.gif" alt="[]" width="1" height="1" /> <br /><br />A deeply depressed Lakewood homemaker who killed her two small children last spring was committed to the state mental hospital Wednesday.<br /><br />Undisputed reports from two psychiatrists led Judge Ruthanne Polidori to conclude after a one-hour trial Monday that Bethe Feltman was insane when she killed 3-year-old Benjamin and 3-month-old Moriah on April 9. Feltman had waived her right to a jury trial. <br /><br />Bethe Feltman told psychiatrists she believed killing her two children and herself was the only way to escape the depression that had gripped her since her baby daughter was born.<br /><br />Many women suffer some degree of depression following childbirth, but few become as psychotic as Feltman, experts say. Such depression has been successfully used as a legal defense in cases nationwide.<br /><br />Polidori, a Jefferson County District Court judge, found Feltman innocent by reason of insanity and ordered her committed until doctors determine she no longer is a danger to herself or others. That could be next month or next decade.<br /><br />Feltman, 32, wiped tears from her eyes when the judge read the <strong>murder</strong> charges against her, but otherwise showed little reaction.<br /><br />The court-appointed psychiatrist testified Feltman panicked after she methodically killed her two children, and wanted to reverse what she had done.<br /><br />``She said she began running between the two, thinking that Ben would wake up,&#39;&#39; Dr. Karen Fukutaki said. ``She didn&#39;t want the children to be dead. She wanted to stop and couldn&#39;t stop. Once she formulated the plan, she began to feel less hopeless.<br /><br />``But now she felt the plan had taken her over. Part of her couldn&#39;t believe she actually had put the plan into effect.&#39;&#39;<br /><br />``This is clearly the case of a person who was extremely ill,&#39;&#39; said Dave Thomas, Jefferson County&#39;s district attorney.<br /><br />``She was very psychotic the day she killed her children. There is no motive in this case other than that she was a very sick human being.&#39;&#39;<br /><br />Defense attorney Craig Truman said Feltman ``by all accounts was a wonderful teacher and mom before being struck down by this terrible disease.<br /><br />``Bethe is confident she can get better. Wade&#39;s gonna hang in there and this family will heal,&#39;&#39; Truman said.<br /><br />Wade Feltman, her husband, left the courtroom without comment. But during a brief statement in court, he thanked the district attorney for treating his family with compassion and working with his attorney ``in what is normally an adversarial relationship.&#39;&#39;<br /><br />Fukutaki and Dr. Seymour Sundell, the psychiatrist hired by the defense, agreed Bethe Feltman was psychotic and severely depressed after the birth of her second child in January.<br /><br />The doctors said Feltman was legally insane when she killed the two children after Wade Feltman went to work.<br /><br />Bethe Feltman had been hospitalized three times for severe postpartum depression since January and was released three days before she killed her children. Fukutaki said Feltman was released April 6 even though she still showed signs of psychosis.<br /><br />Although psychiatric drugs were prescribed, the doctor said it would take at least two weeks for <strong>anti-depressants</strong> to become effective.<br /><br />Feltman told her psychiatrists that she feared being sent back to the hospital after learning April 8 of a doctor&#39;s appointment her husband arranged for April 10.<br /><br />``She wanted to be home with her family for Easter,&#39;&#39; Fukutaki said, adding that Feltman told her ``I was petrified.&#39;&#39;<br /><br />Feltman said she didn&#39;t sleep the night of April 8. ``She said she thought all night about how she could end this vicious cycle,&#39;&#39; Fukutaki said. ``She felt overwhelmed by having two children to care for. She thought if the children were dead, she wouldn&#39;t go back to the hospital.&#39;&#39;<br /><br />When Fukutaki asked her why she didn&#39;t just kill herself and not the children, Feltman told her she ``didn&#39;t want the children to grow up without a mother.&#39;&#39;<br /><br />Soon after her husband left for work at about 8 a.m., Feltman said she began feeding anti-psychotic drugs and cough syrup with codeine to Benjamin. She played with him until he fell asleep about 11:30 a.m. and then fed the cough syrup to Moriah.<br /><br />After checking to be sure Benjamin remained asleep, she put a plastic bag over his head and held it tightly around his neck until he stopped breathing. After taking overdoses of drugs herself, she suffocated Moriah the same way.<br /><br />Feltman said she phoned her husband at about 3 p.m. ``She said she feared she wouldn&#39;t be dead yet, so she suggested he work late,&#39;&#39; Fukutaki said.<br /><br />Although Feltman can be treated, Fukutaki said that when she recovers an even greater depression may emerge once she realizes what she has done.<br /><br />Feltman&#39;s family and friends embraced as the hearing ended.<br /><br />``We&#39;re relieved,&#39;&#39; said her friend, Laurie Sellden. ``She needs the help of a professional and now she will get it.&#39;&#39;<br /><br />Thomas said prosecutors would continue to investigate the circumstances that led to the tragedy.<br /><br />``This is a courthouse that is not happy today,&#39;&#39; he said. ``There are two children whose lives are over. As a public servant and as a human being, I&#39;m very concerned about that and how this, hopefully, can be prevented in the future.&#39;&#39;<br /><br />LIB2 <br />&nbsp; Caption:<br />Color Photo (2) <br />&nbsp; Caption:<br />Benjamin Feltman. FILE: FELTMAN, BETHE<br />CAPTION: Moriah Feltman. FILE: FELTMAN, BETHE <br />Memo:&nbsp; Banner p.1A - MOM RULED INSANE / JEFFCO WOMAN WHO KILLED HER 2 KIDS SENT TO MENTAL HOSPITAL<br />Related color photo p.1A <br />Edition:&nbsp; Final<br />Section:&nbsp; Local<br />Page:&nbsp; 5A<br />Index Terms: TRIAL DEATH CHILDREN DECISION SENTENCE<strong>; </strong>MENTAL HEALTH <br />Dateline:&nbsp; GOLDEN <br />Record Number:&nbsp; 9807030062 <br /><br />OpenURL Article Bookmark (right click, and copy the link location):<br /><a href="http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&amp;rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:NewsBank:RMNB&amp;rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&amp;rft_dat=0EB4EBA978E698C6&amp;svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&amp;req_dat=0FC00B934DD580D0">MOM WHO KILLED KIDS RULED INSANE 2 PSYCHIATRISTS BLAME POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION</a><br />&nbsp; </div> 
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